Nordic Mining protesters removed by police near Førdefjorden

Police have removed demonstrators from the Nordic Mining facility at Engebøfjellet near Førdefjorden following three days of protests. The activists, members of the organization Natur og Ungdom, were protesting the Norwegian government's decision to grant Nordic Mining a new permit to discharge mining waste into the fjord.

Protesters had occupied a bridge near the company's conveyor belt, which fell within a security zone and forced the company to halt the supply of ore from the mountain to the plant. According to Erik Sjødahl, the operations leader for the West Police District, the police intervened at the company's request to clear the obstruction to operations.

Those who refused to leave voluntarily face criminal charges and potential fines of 10,000 NOK. The protests follow a legal dispute in which the Supreme Court ruled in June that the original permit for discharging up to 170 million tons of waste was invalid. Consequently, the government recently approved a new application for the disposal of 4.5 million tons of mining waste over a three-year period.